Gap laptop theft puts applicant details at risk

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Gap has informed some 800,000 people who applied for jobs through the US clothing retailer's recruitment website that their personal data may be at risk following a laptop theft.

In a statement issued late last Friday, the company said it learned on 19 September that a laptop containing the personal information of certain job applicants was recently stolen from the offices of an unnamed third party vendor that manages Gap job applicant data.

It also said the company has begun notifying by letter affected applicants who applied for a role between July 2006 and June 2007 and whose social security numbers were included on the stolen laptop of the risk to their personal information.

It is offering those affected a year of free credit monitoring services with fraud resolution assistance, along with a dedicated website and 24-hour helpline.

Although the data on the laptop was not encrypted contrary to the company's agreement with the vendor, Gap said it had no reason to believe the data contained on the computer was the target of the theft or that the personal information has been accessed or used improperly.

Gap chairman and chief executive, Glenn Murphy said in the statement: "What happened here is against everything we stand for as a company. We're reviewing the facts and circumstances that led to this incident closely, and will take appropriate steps to help prevent something like this from happening again."

The retailer also said it uses more than one vendor to manage job applicant data, so not all people who applied to work for the company between the relevant dates have been affected.

Talent management vendor Taleo is responsible for the US Gap recruitment website and said in a statement: "The data loss involved a Gap vendor that processes job applicant data. Taleo was not the vendor involved in this data loss."

Local law enforcement has been involved and an investigation of the theft is underway, although the vendor involved in the breach has not been publicly named.

The stolen laptop contained personal information for people who applied for store positions with the company's Old Navy, Banana Republic, Gap and Outlet stores from the US, Puerto Rico and Canada.

Gap operates a similar recruitment website for applicants seeking UK and Ireland positions, but it appears as though the data processed by this site was not affected.

Gap had not responded to requests for comment at time of writing.

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